


Midnight, the Stars and You

by sundance



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: M/M, Reunions, Snark, Stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2018-05-24 06:30:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6144640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sundance/pseuds/sundance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Alternative title: Adventures In Writing In-Character Fluff</p>
    </blockquote>





	Midnight, the Stars and You

**Author's Note:**

> Alternative title: Adventures In Writing In-Character Fluff

The lights on the observation deck are switched off; a bright nebula illuminates the room through its wall-sized windows instead. General Hux is cast in brilliant, fiery reds with tints of divine blue light. He stands with his hands clasped behind him, staring out into the chaotic beauty of space. 

As soon as his shift had ended, Hux retreated to his favorite place on the _Finalizer_ with a bottle of his favorite expensive wine. It’s rare that he gets a moment alone, and even rarer that he allows his overworked brain to power down. 

He sips from his glass in silence, but the peace and quiet only lasts for so long. Hux doesn’t turn around when he hears the door slide open. The room is quiet enough to hear the distinct, heavy footfalls of Kylo Ren. 

“Commander,” says Hux in acknowledgement, rather than in greeting. 

“General,” answers Ren, echoing the sentiment—or lack thereof—and falling into position beside him. 

“I am off-duty, Ren. Is there any particular reason you’ve come to see me?” Questions Hux, still looking straight ahead. There’s no reason to face Ren while he’s wearing that stupid mask, anyway. 

“Of course you would think that I’ve come to see _you._ Perhaps I’ve come to watch the stars?”

“If you were any more transparent I think I might be able to see the stars through that ridiculous helmet of yours.”

Hux isn’t expecting Ren to remove the helmet, but he does. He sets it down and approaches the general while flipping his dark hair out of his eyes with a dramatic and over exaggerated toss of his head. 

“You’ve missed me,” says Ren, suddenly, plainly, as if it were fact instead of conjecture. Hux anxiously scratches at his palms; he had not been prepared to so quickly fall back into their secretive, casual relationship, if one could even call it that. The most unsettling part is that he doesn’t mind it all that much. 

There’s an awkward and uncomfortable pause before Hux turns his head, seeing Ren for the first time in months. Behind the scar that now bisects his face, Ren looks the same as always, those soft brown eyes betraying his overwhelming presence. 

“Miss you?” Laughs Hux, “For what reason would I have had to miss you? In fact, things have been running quite smoothly _without_ you.” 

Ren continues as if he hadn’t heard him. “I know you did—at least, you suspected you would. You wouldn’t have come back for me otherwise.”

“You are quite insistent, Ren. But do realize that I was following strict orders from the Supreme Leader, and that the decision was out of my hands,” says Hux. 

“ _You,_ I mean. Personally, as if you hadn’t trusted anyone else to see to my rescue. Although, considering the circumstances, I thought you would’ve had more…” remembering his near-death experience on Starkiller Base, Ren pauses to roll the word around like sour candy on his tongue, “... _Important_ preparations to make for our departure.” 

Hux stares at Ren incredulously. _Was he not debriefed?_ Hux is about to defend the magnitude of his work’s importance when Ren unexpectedly sits down, cross-legged, on the thinly carpeted floor. Hux is disturbed to find that it takes him a significant amount of willpower not to drop down into the other man’s lap. His exhaustion is impairing his judgement, he tells himself, and sits beside Ren instead, still close enough that their knees touch. 

Ren responds by resting a gloved hand on Hux’s knee. Hux frowns at it, but doesn’t push the hand away. When the right words cannot be found, the two have learned to communicate through body language and careful touching, just as they feel through proximity and magnetism. The general and his co-commander sit, side-by-side in silence, enchanted by the vast expanse of light and color that is splattered across the pitch-black canvas of the void. 

Naturally, Ren is the first to get antsy. “You still haven’t admitted it,” he teases, “That you missed me.” 

Ren is leaning dangerously close, now. His warm breath and familiar scent finally shatter the general’s composure. Hux hadn’t known how touch-starved he’d been until now. He lets his head fall on Ren’s shoulder and whispers, “Oh, _hell,_ Ren. You have no idea.”

“Likewise,” admits Ren, slinging an arm around Hux’s shoulders, “Was that so hard, General?” 

Before Hux can reply—or argue, whatever—Ren suddenly wraps his arms around the other man, rearranging his legs so that he can capture Hux in a tight, full-body embrace. Hux stiffens at first, but soon relaxes against Ren’s broad chest without protest. He had missed the warmth, security, and comfort that this wretched man can offer him. 

Ren rests his chin on top of Hux’s head and sighs contently. Hux reaches for Ren’s hands and peels his gloves off. Ren responds by taking Hux’s hand in his own. 

“You’re awfully clingy tonight,” says Hux. 

“You’re awfully observant tonight,” mimics Ren. He dips his head to nuzzle Hux’s cheek with his own. The scratchy stubble is rough against the general’s skin; Ren knows how much Hux hates it. 

“Ugh, stop that,” snaps Hux, pushing Ren’s face away. “Your displays of affection are as brazen and graceless as ever.“ Hux twists free of Ren’s grasp to face him. He’d expected to be shocked by the state of Ren’s wound, but when he stares deep into the knight’s tired eyes, Hux’s only desire is to touch, to run his fingers over the marred skin of his face, and more. 

Hux’s raised hand hovers a centimeter from Ren’s face, so close that he can feel the heat coming off him. “Can I?” he asks in but a soft exhale, and Ren nods, knowing exactly what the general is asking for. Ren closes his eyes once Hux’s fingers begin to travel up the length of the scar, and he doubts that Hux has ever touched something so gently in his entire life. 

Once Hux has mapped out the topography of the scar tissue, he cups Ren’s face in both hands while he presses their foreheads together. Their breaths mingle and neither are sure who is inhaling or exhaling at this point, but it doesn’t matter. Hux places a gentle kiss on the corner of Ren’s mouth, an invitation that the knight gladly accepts. Ren tangles a hand in Hux’s hair and kisses back with parted lips, raw and biting with desire and desperate passion. 

Hux fails to realize that Ren has started to undo the buttons on his uniform until he feels the open air on his chest. He slaps Ren’s hands away. 

“Are you mad?” scolds Hux, standing once he’s done disentangling himself from Ren’s stupidly strong limbs, “We can’t. Not here.”

Ren shrugs coyly, a lopsided grin on his face. He stands as well, stepping right back into Hux’s personal space. 

“Your quarters or mine?” Ren murmurs against the general’s lips. 

Hux leads the way without another word, leaving the wine bottle and Ren’s helmet behind, the meaning of the items left to the interpretation of the first person who finds them.

**Author's Note:**

> I struggled a lot with some parts of this, so any criticism, especially on characterization, would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> The title is from the song of the same name by Al Bowlly.


End file.
